Chapter 14
“Do try and make certain that you have even one dance this evening, Susanna. It would be better for the Duke’s daughters to both be able to step out, rather than I alone.”
Susanna gripped her hands tightly together and looked Maude straight in the eye.
“Do not be concerned on my account, sister,” she said, managing to keep the frustration out of her voice.
“I am quite sure I will have more than one dance taken this evening.” After all she had shared with Lord Lancashire, Susanna was praying that he would find her and ask her to dance, even if it was to be her only dance of the evening.
She wanted very much to be back in his arms again.
“Is that so?” Maude sniffed and shook her head. “I think you have a little too much hope, Susanna. You have been struggling to find gentlemen to stand up with you of late, have you not?”
The frustration in Susanna’s heart turned to pain. “I do not think I will struggle any longer, Maude,” she said, as sweetly as she could. “Not this evening, at least.”
Her sister frowned, her eyes holding questions, but Susanna, much to her relief, spied Lady Ellen walking alongside her aunt and, knowing that her mother would not care where she had gone so long as she was being just as proper as was expected, Susanna took her leave of her sister.
“Oh, Ellen, thank goodness you have come.”
Ellen, immediately welcoming, smiled warmly and then looped her arm through Susanna’s. “I am just as glad to see you as you are to see me! I must say, this ball is more of a crush than I anticipated, and I find myself somewhat overwhelmed by the sheer number of people present!”
She gestured expansively at the room around them — the chandeliers blazing with a hundred candles each, their light fracturing across the crystal droplets and scattering tiny rainbows across the nearest dancers; the orchestra on its raised platform, playing a lively country dance that set feet tapping even among those who were not dancing; and the press of bodies in silk and superfine, the scent of perfume and pomade and warm skin mingling in the heated air.
It was the sort of evening that Maude lived for, and that Susanna had, until very recently, endured.
Susanna leaned towards her, keeping her voice low despite the crowd around them. “If you wish, I can tell you all about Lord Lancashire and how he found me in the bookshop.”
Ellen stopped walking.
“We – we have come to an understanding.”
Her friend snatched in a breath.
“He confessed all to me and, in return, I confessed my heart to him, just as you suggested.” With joy still pouring into her heart at the recollection of her conversation with Lord Lancashire, Susanna shut her eyes for a moment or two, a smile spreading across her face as she told the rest of the story to her friend.
When she had finished, Ellen said nothing at all for some minutes.
Seeing just how wide Ellen’s eyes had become, Susanna could not help but giggle, her face flushing.
“I did not think you could stare at me like that, Ellen.”
Her friend blinked, tried to say something, and then shook her head, obviously overwhelmed with astonishment at all Susanna had shared.
“I do hope you will support me in such a decision,” Susanna continued, her smile fading as she watched her friend, the ball continuing around them. “I understand that it may seem foolish to you to return to someone who has caused so much pain, but my heart will not let him go free.”
“No, no, of course I do not think you foolish!” Ellen, regaining her voice, grasped Susanna’s hand. “I was the one who encouraged you to speak with him, was I not? I just did not expect it to come about so quickly!”
Heat tore into Susanna’s face. “Nor did I, if I am to be truthful. I did not expect to see him in the bookshop and most certainly did not think that he would come to me in such a way! I am very pleased that he did so, however.”
“As am I.” Ellen’s eyes became assessing. “I must say, I admire your forgiving spirit. I do not think that I would so easily be able to step past the hurt he caused you.”
Susanna considered this, then nodded slowly.
“I do not think I am more forgiving than anyone else. I think that since I have discovered what it is to fall in love with another, to cling to him in heart, mind, and soul, it has been easier for me to return to that love when it is offered me again. The pain is still present, yes. The hurt and the upset have not simply faded because he has apologized, but they have certainly diminished.”
“And diminished enough for you to return to his arms.”
With a small smile, Susanna nodded. “Yes, I think so.”
“Then I am glad for you.”
With heat still in her cheeks, Susanna glanced at her friend, then looked out over the crowd. “And you?”
Ellen laughed and shook her head.
“I have seen Lord Winslow come to speak with you and dance with you on more than one occasion,” Susanna said, pointedly. “And Lord Kettering has been attentive, has he not?”
“Yes, I suppose they both have,” Ellen agreed, “but I think I should very much like to be in love just as you are with Lord Lancashire.”
“That may come with a continued acquaintance,” Susanna suggested, as Ellen shrugged. “You have had your own share of difficulty. You deserve to find a happiness all of your own.”
“I thank you.” Ellen smiled at her. “I am hopeful I shall.” Her head tipped to one side. “Might I ask if Lord Lancashire is going to declare his affection for you to all and sundry? Is there to be courtship?”
Susanna shook her head, making Ellen’s eyebrows lift in surprise. “Not as yet. He wanted very much to do so, but I told him we had to wait.” She spread out her hands. “We must find the truth about the letter from Lord Blackwood, which we now think was not from Lord Blackwood after all.”
Ellen’s surprise faded. “And if you announce your courtship or the like, then you fear that whoever wrote that letter might do something more – or something worse.”
“Precisely.”
“Then I should like to help you,” Ellen told her, as two gentlemen began to move purposefully towards them. “If you would permit me?”
There was no time to answer, for the two gentlemen in question came to stand directly in front of them both, bowing low, and as Susanna turned to greet them, her heart leapt up wildly.
“Good evening, Lady Susanna, Lady Ellen.” Lord Lancashire’s eyes glinted gently as he smiled at her. “We have come in the hope that you will permit us both a dance this evening.”
Susanna wanted to rip the dance card from her wrist and thrust it in Lord Lancashire’s direction, such was her eagerness, but instead, she smiled, glanced at Ellen, and then took the ribbon carefully from her wrist. “Thank you, Lord Lancashire, Lord Kettering.” A glance towards Ellen told her that her friend’s color had also heightened just a fraction.
Was she caught by Lord Kettering’s interest, even in a small way? “We should be delighted.”
“The waltz, I think!” Lord Lancashire declared, his eyes now holding a warmth to them that made Susanna’s face grow hot. “What say you to that, Lord Kettering?”
“I think it is an excellent notion,” came the reply, as Lord Kettering signed his name to Ellen’s dance card. “If you are both permitted to dance the waltz, that is.”
“We are,” Ellen spoke quickly, looking to Lord Kettering with a sharpness in her eyes, as if she wanted to ascertain why he wanted to take her waltz.
There was something there, Susanna thought — a wariness in Ellen’s gaze that was not quite indifference, and a steadiness in Lord Kettering’s regard that spoke of more than mere politeness.
He watched Ellen with a quiet attentiveness, as though cataloguing every small shift of her expression. “You are very kind, Lord Kettering.””
Susanna smiled softly as Lord Lancashire held her gaze for a long moment before lowering his head and writing his name there.
This had been planned by both himself and Lord Kettering, it seemed, and Susanna was very grateful.
It was a way for them both to dance together without anyone taking particular note of it – but it would mean so much to her.
“And now, if I might take your card, Lady Susanna?” Lord Kettering handed Lord Lancashire his card, and Lord Lancashire did the same. “Another dance for the both of us… although perhaps not as significant as the waltz!”
With a smile, Susanna took back her dance card from Lord Lancashire’s fingers, the brief touch of his skin to hers making her tremble inwardly with hope and expectation. “I thank you.”
“Goodness, Lord Lancashire, are you already signing dance cards without coming to speak to us? I should confess myself to be a little put out!”
Startled by not only the loud interjection but also the boldness with which the lady spoke, Susanna took a small step backwards.
“Now, Theresa, there are more than enough dances for us all this evening,” said another young lady, one that Susanna did not know. “Good evening, Lord Kettering, good evening, Lord Lancashire.”
“Good evening, Lady Honora,” Lord Lancashire replied.
“Might I introduce you to Lady Susanna, the daughter of the Duke of Somerset? And this is Lady Ellen, present with her aunt, Lady Kilthorn, for the Season.” As the Marquess looked back at Susanna, something shimmered in his eyes, something that caught her interest. “Lady Ellen, Lady Susanna, this is Lady Honora. Her father is the Earl of Birmingham.” He paused.
“Her uncle is also the esteemed Lord Blackwood.”
Susanna’s eyebrows shot high, but she curtsied quickly, giving herself a few moments to cover her surprise with a smile of welcome. “How very good to make your acquaintance, Lady Honora.”
“Oh, but Lord Blackwood is also our uncle,” Lady Theresa put in, ignoring Susanna entirely and looking straight at Lord Lancashire. “Did you not know? We are all related!”